chapter 15: public relations

7/28/2019 Chapter 15: Public Relations

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Chap 15 : pr

Fundamental comm discipline covering a wide range of functions that help an org connectwith the people it touches

Functions-internal relations, publicity, ads, press agentry, public affairs, lobbying, issuesmanagement, dev n etc

To generate good will for an organization Pr is the management function that est and maintains mutually beneficial relationships

between an org n the publics on whom its success or failure depends Focuses on all the r/s an org has with its various publics Public-all the groups of people with which a company or org interacts Stakeholders-people who have a stake, financial, or otherwise in a company or org Practice by wide range of org It dynamic, global profession

Public opinion

A group of people think, expresses belief based on their experiences with people, events,institutions or products

To design effective public relations:1. Public are most important to the organization, now and in the future?2. What do these public think

Public opi differs with mass opinion in that public opinion examines specific subgroupsrather than a more general mass audience

Opinion leaders-important people who influence the opinion of others

Reputation: goodwill, trust and integrity

Public goodwill is the greatest asset any organization can have A well informed public with a positive attitudes toward an organization is critical to the

organizations survival Creating primary goodwill is e primary goal of most pr prog It is critically for pr professionals to act ethically It is equal important for the clients n org they represent to act with integrity E trust on which goodwill is based comes from corporate integrity

Comparing pr n ads

Designing ads, preparing written messages n buying time or space are the key concerns of advertisers-obj to create the consumer awareness n motivation that deliver sales

E goal of pr specialist is communicating w various stakeholders, managing e orgs image andreputation, creating positive public attitudes, n building strong relationship between e org nits constituents

Pr takes longer, broader view of e importance of image n reputation as a corporatecompetitive asset and addresses more target audiences


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They differ in how they use the media, the level of ctrl they have over message delivery, andtheir perceived credibility

Pr engages with its publics who are active participants in the comm processDiffer:

1. Media use-pr people seek to persuade media gatekeepers to carry stories abouttheir company

2. Gatekeepers-writers, producers, editors, talkshow coordinators and newscasters-people often mistake it for publicity, which refers to getting news mediacoverage-publicity focused on the news media and their audiences which just one aspectof public relations, and it carries no direct media costs-when pr uses paid for media like ads, e message focuses on e org, with little orno attempt to sell a brand or product line

3. Ctrl-pr strategist is at the mercy of the media gatekeeper

-no guarantee that all or even part of a story will appear-ads runs exactly as the client who paid for it has approved and it runs scheduled

4. Credibility-the public tends to trust e media more than they do advertisers-implied 3 rd party endorsement factor-tendency to confer legitimacy on infosimply coz it appears in the news

Csr-corporate social responsibility/sustainable dev/corporate citizenship is another way tobuild credibility of pr-often these efforts use advertising to accomplish their public relations goals

Different types of pr prog

Relationship marketing-introduces a point of view in marketing planning that evolved frompr1. Media relations-e area that focuses on developing media contacts-knowing who in the

media might be interested in the orgs story -e org initiates publicity n provides pertinent info to the media

2. Employees relations-program that communicate info to employees-responsibility for human resources-related prog called internal marketing, deals with comm efforts aimed at informingemployees about marketing programs n encouraging their support

3. Financial relations-all the comm efforts aimed at the financial community. Eg pressreleases sent to business publications, annual reports and etc.

4. Public affairs-corporate comm prog with govt and with e public on issues related to govtand regulation-lobbying-provides info to legislators to get their support and vote on a particular bill

20 key publics

1. Clerical employees2. Board of directors

3.

Labor unions4. Academic community


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5. Regulatory authorities6. Federal, state, local legislators7. Customers8. Dealers/distributors9. Trade assoc10. Banks, insurers11. International community12. Community neighbors13. Special interest groups14. Suppliers15. Competitors16. Investment community17. Stockholders18. Media

19. Manager/supervisors20. Employee families

5. Issue management- monitor public opinion about issues central to e organizationsinterest and dev prog to communicate to n with e public about these issue

6. Recruitment7. Fund raising-practice of raising money by collecting donations

-used by non profit organization-Called strategic philantrophy

8. Cause marketing-assoc themselves with a good cause by providing assistance and financial suppot

Others: corporate reputation management, crisis management, marketing pr

Corporate reputation management

Focuses on an or gs image and reputation Overriding goal of reputation management in a corporate relations program is to strengthen

the trust that stakeholders have in an organization Corporate image is a fragile commodity-to improve, must operate with implicit trust of the

public

Crisis management

To anticipate e possibility of a disaster and plan how to deal with the bad news and all theaffected publics

Preparing for a potential crisis helps organizations weather storm

Public comm campaigns

Used as a way to change public opinion Discourage socially harmful behaviors


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Marketing public relations

Ads n pr overlap Planning and delivering programs that encourage sales and contribute to customer

satisfaction by providing communication that addresses the needs and wants of consumers

Support marketings product and sales focus by increasing e brands credibility withconsumers

Pr plan

Complement e marcomm strategies so the org communicates with on clear voice to itsvarious public

The plan also identifies the various key publics aand the public relations activities that prpeople use to address e interest of its various publics

Specify e obj that give direction to the pr program or campaign

Research n swot analysis

Start with formal bg, communication audit to assess the internal n external pr envoi thataffects e orgs audiences, obj, competitors and past results

Benchmarking-to identify baseline from previous audits or audits of other relatedcompaniesand industries so there is a point of comparison

Gap analysis-measures the differences in perceptions and attitudes between groups orbetween e org and its public

Categorize public Latent public-unaware of their connection to an org regarding some particular prob Aware public those who recognize the connections btween the prob and themselves n others

but who dont communicate about it Active publics-communicate n organize to do sth about e issue or situation

This analysis reflects a general u/s if the difficulty of changing peoples attitudes about issuessuch as corp and their role in protecting the environment

u/s the nature of prob makes it easier to determine the appropriate comm obj and the target

stakeholders audiences or public who will be addressed by the pr efforts

e situation analysis can include such topic as changes public opinion, industry, and consumertrends eno trends n etc

targeting

Research is conducted to identify the appropriate public to which to address e publicmessage

Research provided a key insight


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Obj n strategies

Designed by pr planner to make changes in the publics knowledge, attitudes and behaviorsrelated to company, brand, or org

Obj focus on creating credibility, delivering info,building positive images, trust and corporate

goodwill Need to ch ange peoples belief,attitude, and feeling Obj

1. Creating corporate or org brand2. Shaping or redefining a corp reputation3. Positioning or repositioning a company or brand4. Moving a brand to a new market or a global market5. Launching a new product or brand6. Providing product or brand info7. Creating buzz8. Creating excitement in the marketplace

Change agent strategies

Change agent prog can be internal strategies focused on employess or call internal marketingor external n focused on other publics. Eg cutomer n other stakeholders

Communication with principal stakeholders ranks high in the hierarchy of factors that predictsuccess.

Communication is second only to the main stakeholders participation in the process

Involvement strategies

To intensify stakeholders involvement with a company or brand Can create interest and a feeling of excitement but more importantly it can drive loyalty

Big idea

Creative ideas are important in public relations as in ads

Pr role in imc

Integrated prog, ads n public relations aim at selected targets with differs butcomplementary messages

Pr uses a variety of marketing comm tools just as ads does Pr n ads need to merge or at least find common ground as the media fragments and

consumers gain more ctrl of their time n media habits Messages aimed at reaching mass audiences in the shifting media environment are less

effective, and new opportunities are emerging for public relations, publicity, and productplacements to be integral parts of imc


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Common types of pr tools

Ctrl media-house ads, psa, corp, ads, in house publications n visual presentaions-the sponsoring org pay for these media-sponsor maintains total ctrl over how and when e message is delivered

Unctrld media-press release, press conference, n media tours Semi ctrld media-electronic

-Corp n business ctrl their own websites, but other websites, blogs and chatrooms about thecompany are not ctrldWord of mouth or buzz is important to pr prog coz of the persuasive power of personalconversation

Ctrl media Unctrl media Semi ctrl1. House ads2. Psa3. Corp, institutional,

advocacy ads4. Publications5. Annual reports6. Speakers7. Photographs8. Films, videos, cds9. Displays10. Exhibits11. Staged events12. Books

1. News release-print, audio,video, email

2. Feature-pitch letters3. Fillers, historical pieces,

profiles4. Press conference n media

advisory-media kits, factsheets, bg info

5. Media tours6. Bylined articles, op ed

pieces, letters to the editor7. Talk n interview shows8. psa

1. Electronic comm-website,chatrooms

2. Special events nsponsorship

3. Word of mouth4. weblogs

Ads

to create corp visibility or strengthen r/s with its various stakeholders primary uses of ads-house ads, psa n corp ads

house ads

an org may prepare a house ads- for use in its own publication or programming often managed by the pr department

psa

ads for charitable and civic org that run free of charge on tv or radio or in print media these ads are prepared just like other print ads or commercials, n in most instances ad

agencies donate their expertise n media donate time n space run e ads no guarantee which markets will see the campaign elements, n there is no guarantee that e

same people will see the print n tv versions of campaign some psa dont get any airtime or print placements can help non profit org


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corp ads

focuses on its corporate image or viewpoint less emphasis on selling a particular product unless it is tied in to a good cause-the ad or

other campaign materials may originate in e pr dept rather than e ads dept

corp identity ads-another type of ads that firms use to enhance or maintain their reputationamong specific audiences or to establish a lvl of awareness of the companys name n thenature of its business

sometimes companies deliver pov message called advocacy ads

publicity

consider e various tools n tech used by media relations specialist to get publicity in the newsmedia on behalf of a company or brand

media rlations is often seen as the most important core competency for pr professional

they also develop personal contact with reporters n editoers who write regularly on topicsre lated to their orgs industry

news releases

primary medium used to deliver public relations messages to the various external media what e public finally sees then is not necessarily wht the originating company had in mind,

and so this form of publicity offers less ctrl to the originating company news values based on such considerations as timeliness(sth just happened or is about to

happen), proximity(a local angle), impact(importance / significance) or human interest

must be written differently for each medium, accommodating space and times limitations can be delivered in a number of ways, in person, by local delivery service, by mail by fax or byemail

sometimes a company is hired that specializes in distribution

guidelines to use email1. use reporters name n address per to line 2. keep subject line header simple3. boldface FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE on the first line above the date 4. catch attention with a good headline5. limit length6. use the 5w format7. do not include attachments8. put cntc information below the text

video news releases contain video footage for a tv newscast

pitch letter

ideas for feature stories, which are human interest stories rather than hard news

announcements, have to be sold to editors outlines e subject in an engaging way n sells a story idea


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to feature interesting research breakthrough employess or corporate causes

press confreneces

an event at which a company spokesperson makes a statement to the media rep

one of the riskiest public relations activities coz the media may not see the companysannouncement as being real news

companies often worry about whther the press will show up for a press conference to encourage reporters to cover press conferences, companies may issue a media kit media kits-a folder that provides all important bg info to members of the press, either bfore

or when they arrive at the press conference risk in offering media kits is that they give reporters all of the necessary info so that e press

conference become unnecessary

media tour

a press conference on wheels travelling spokesperson makes announcements and speeches, hold press conferences to

explain a promotional effort, and offers interviews

publications

org may provide employees and other publics with pamphlets, booklets, annual reportsmbooks, bulletins n etc

annual report- a companys annual report is targeted to investors and may be the single mostimportant document the company distributes

important to investors n stockholders collateral material-publish material print or online-to support marketing public relations

efforts-to support particular campaigns

Other tools

1. dvd, cds, podcasts, books, n online video-dvd n podcast have become major pr tools for companies-not inexpensive

-popular with e advent of simplified electronic publication-Ideal tool for distributing in depth info about a company or prog

2. Speaker n photos-talk about topics at the publics request -some publics, usually the news media, may want pictures or people, product, places nevents-pr dept maintain files of photographs that are accurate, up to date, and wellcomposed-companies seldom give permission to use ads that authors intend to criticize

Displays and exhibits

Important parts of both sales promo n pr prog


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Include signage, and booth, racks and holders for promotional lit

Special event and tours

Some companies stage events to celeb milestones eg, key anniversaries n introduction of

new prod

Online communications

Email, intranets(connect people within an org) n extranets(connect people in one businesswith its business partner)

Internet-ads, promotions, open up pr activities

External comm

Public mass medium in that allows manages comm directly between org n audiences without

the gatekeeping function of other mass media Corp website important part of corporate comm-present info about e company n open up

avenues for stakeholders to cntc e company

Internal comm

Separate worksites to communicate Inexpensive form of internal comm Can be used in court

Web challenges

Search engine optimization is major issue for online experts who continually try to improve eprocess of key word searching that leads interested web users to their sites

Much harder to ctrl what is said about the company on interent Gossip rumors can spread around the world within hours Some companies monitor e internet to see what is being said about them so they can

respond to protect their reputations

Bottom line

Critical to find a way to break thru the media clutter for pr n ads messagesHow to communicate message effectively:1. Wrap your story around a bigger data2. Keep it short n personal3. Pay attention to web basics4. Host events5. Seek out brand ambassadors6. Publish a newsletter

Measure pr

Evaluation based on measureable obj from e beginning of planning


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Obj that specify e impact e prog seeks to have on the various publics can be evacuated by epr manager if they contain benchmarks n target levl

Measuring e impact of pr has been difficult Rapid changes in e media environment futher complicate measurement metrics Measure in terms of output(how many news releases led to stories or mention in news

stories and outcome(attitude / behavior change

chapter 15: public relations

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